Suction cleaner



Sept. 20, 1932. D. G. sMELLiE 1,878,901

sUcTIoN CLEANER Filed ocfc. 1, 1930 Patented Sept. 20, 1932 iran normane. mmm, or cannoni, omo, acercaron 'rc run vndovnn coureur, or

Nomen cannon, omo, a conronarron or onro sperren creatina applicationtiled October 1, 1930. Serial No. .lfllt.

The present invention relates to suction cleaners and particularly toimproved supporting means therefore. More specifically the inventionrelates to a new and/improved 5 rear wheel mounting for a suctioncleaner having the desirable characteristic of making easier `theturning or change of direction of the cleaner and also of being able toaccommodate unevenness in the supporting surface la through beingangularly adjustable in a vertical plane.

lt is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improvedwheel support for a suction cleaner. Another object is to le provide anew and improved compensating castor support 'for a suction cleaner.Still another object' is the provision o an improved support for asuction cleaner which increases the usefulness and ease of operation offthe au cleaner throughmaking easier changes in the direction or cleanertravel. A still turther object is the provision, in a suction cleaner,of resiliently mounted supporting means. @ther and more specific objectswill appear a upon reading the following specication andv considering inconnection therewith the drawing attached thereto.

' Referring now to the drawing i K ln Fig. 1 a modern suction cleaner isshown te in perspective with the present invention embodied therein andone oi the supporting wheels removed.

Fig. 2 discloses a bottom view of the present invention as embodied inFig. 1 with certain arts broken away and shown in section or the purposeot greater clarity.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic disclosure of the operation of a suctioncleaner embodying the present invention in changing its direction oftravel. -v

. 1n the drawing the present invention is disclosed embodied in a modernsuction cleaner which comprises a main casting 1 which houses a drivingmotor '.tor the cleaner and which also provides an exhaust air passagetherearound which leads to the exhaust outlet 2 which is provided `withsuitable means 3, 3 by which a dust bag or dirt vreceptacle can beattached. Forward of the main casing 1 -is the unit casting whichcomprises a fan chamber 4 and a suctiony nozzle 5 havin front and rearlips 6 and 7. The cleaner is movably supported by means of spaced frontsupporting wheels 8, 8 and by rear supporting wheels 9, 9 which arecarried by the suction cleaner and more specifically on the underside ofthe exhaust outlet 2 in amanner which forms the present invention. Ahandle 10 is provided, as in the usual suction cleaner, by which thecleaner may bel propelled over the surface covering undergoing cleaningby the operator andmeans, indicated generally by the reference character1l, are provided to resistingly maintain the handle 10 in any givenposition in the absence of positive rotating force on said han: dle. Noinvention is claimed in the general arrangement of the suction cleanerand the present application is directed to a new and improved mountingfor the rear supporting wheels 9, 9 which support the rear end ot thesuction cleaner in a manner to be hereinatter more fully described.

The vrear supporting wheels 9, 9 are rotatably supported upon thereduced ends of a shaft 12 which is itself slidingly positioned in acentral housing or bearing member 13. Wheels 9, 9 are retained on thesupporting axle 12 by suitable means such as screws 1d, 1d which arethreaded into a threaded bore in the end of Vthe axle. Rings 15, 15,which are forced upon the arde 12 and are rigidly carried thereby, limitthe inward displacement of the wheels 9, 9 upon the axle and perform thefurther useful function oit providing an outer seat or retainerfor thecoil springs 16, 16, of which only one is shown, which are positionedbetween each ring 15, 15 and a suitable shoulder 17 formedl upon thehousing 18. rllhe coil springs 1.6

function to maintain the axle 12, and so the supporting wheels, insubstantially mid-po sition of the supporting housing 13. Suitable cups18 and 19 are held by each spring the shoulders 17, 17 and, beingslidable relative to one another through being positioned in concentricrelationship, form suitable protecting means and dust housings for the'16 against the retainer members 15, 15 and springs 16, 16 while no waypreventing the movement of shaft 12.

Housing 13 is provided exteriorly with pro'ections of increased radiuswhich are indicated by the reference characters 20, 20 which providesupporting means for a pair of transversely extending U-shaped arms 21,21. The arms 21, 21 are each shown as being formed in one piece andenclosing the frame 13 adjacent the supports 20, 20. The opposite endsof the supporting arms 21, 21 extend inwardly and substantially parallelto the axis of the Vhousing 13 and are embedded within resilient bodiesof rubber which are indicated generally by the reference character 22,22. Each arm 21 is provided with an opening 23 near its outer end forthe purpose of enclosing a section of the supporting rubber to provide afirmer foundation and to' prevent relative movement thru slipping. Thebody of rubber 22, 22 may be molded about the supporting arms 21, 21 ormay be formed in suitable shapes so that they can be assembled thereon.Each body of rubber 22 is suitably housed within a container housingcomprising a side wall 24, and top and bottom caps 25 and 26 which, withthe ex ception of the slots 27, -27 formed in the axle sides of thewalls 24,24 for the purpose of permitting vertical movement of thesupporting arms 21, 21 totally enclose the body of resilient materialand substantially prevent deterioration thereof thru contact with theexterior atmosphere. Attaching means 28, 28.etc. are provided whichextend thru the housings including the resilient supports for the arms21, 21, into the underside of the exhaust outlet 2 of the cleaner andserve to maintain the assembly in position relative thereto. l

In the operation of a suction cleaner it is often desirable to changethe direction of movement in order to avoid certain obstacles, to reacha different location, or solely for the purpose of advancing over a newarea of the surface covering for the purposeof cleaning. With theordinary suction cleaner' provided with supporting means of the'rotarytype in which no provision has been made for such a variation in thedirection of travel it becomes necessary, by means of a force exertedthrough the cleaner handle, to slide, in the sense of moving sideways,either the front supporting wneels or the rear supporting wheels overthe covering. The operation of -such a cleaner discloses that whilelittle effort is required to move a cleaner where rotation of thesupporting wheels will accomplish that movement that a considerablygreater force is required where the movement is of a transverse nature Yrequiring the pushing sideways of the cleanerv upon the covering.

With the suction cleaner embodying supporting means constructed inaccordance with the present invention the change in the d1- `firstdirection such as indicated bythe line 1-1 of Figure 3 to a directionindicated by the line 2--2 of the same figure, it is only necessary toforce the handle of the cleaner slightly to the right, the housing orbearing 13'sliding to the right upon the supporting axle 12 compressingthe spring 16 upon its right hand side and permitting the spring 16 onthe opposite side to be extended. *his transverse movement of thebearing 13 upon the axle 12 does not result in the sliding ofthewheels9, 9 over the surface covering but instead results in the axle 12being slightly rotated with the accompanying rotation of the wheels 9, 9as is clearly indicated by F igure 3 by the full and dotted linepositions. Inasmuch as it is not possible to change the position of therear end of the cleaner Without an accompanying change in the forwardend it is evident that in the change from a position indicated by theline 1-'1 to that of the line 2 2 the front end of the cleaner will alsobe rotated thru a slight angle, the center point of the front axle beingthe pivot point of that rotation. With the cleaner positioned asindicated by the dotted lines it is clear that a forward push willadvance it tothe left of its first direction of travel.

It is apparent then that the change in the direction of travel of thecleaner has been accomplished with an entire absence of any slipping ofthe supporting means over the surface covering. lt should be pointed outthat it is entirely probable that upon the advance of the cleaner in itsnew direction of travel, as indicated by the line 2 2, that the force-exertedby the compressed coil spring 16 upon the right hand side ofthe housing 13 would gradually result in there-centering of the axle 12relative thereto. This relative movement would be gradually accomplishedas the cleaner was rolled over the surface covering and would not beaccompanied by an appreciable energy requirement.

It is also apparent, that with the supporting means constructed inaccordance with the present invention the resilient mountings of theaxle supporting arms 21, 21 provide for a limited tilting of that axleand so it is that upon encountering an uneven supporting surface thatthe rear supporting wheels accommodate themselves thereto thru a slightangular adjustment in a vertical plane with a resulting sliding of thesupporting arms 21, 21 thru the slots 27, 27etc., Vin the walls 24, 24that enclose the resilient supporting means.

1. In a suction chamber of the movable type a body, supporting meanstherefor comprising a wheel, an axle rotatably supporting said Wheel,means slidably supporting said axle, and other means movably supportingsaid last mentioned means on said body.

2. In a` suction cleaner of the movable type i a body, supporting meanstherefor comprising a Wheel, an axle for said wheel, means supportingsaid axle for horizontal sliding movement, second means supporting saidmeans for angular movement relative'to said v body, characterized by thefact that saidsecond means resiliently and resistingly 0pl pose angularmovement of said axle relative to said body. y

3. In a suction cleaner a body, a spaced front supporting wheels forsaid body, spaced rear Wheels for `said* body, an axle for said rearWheels, means between said Wheels slidably supporting said axle, andmeans supporting said first mentioned means .for angular movementrelative to said body.

4. In a suction cleaner a bod ,spaced front supporting Wheels for saidbo y, a rear wheel for said body, an axle rotatably supporting said rearwheel, means supporting said axle for horizontal movement, a body ofresilient material carried by said cleaner body, and means carriedbysaid resilient body supporting said first mentioned means for angularmovement relative to said body.

5. In a suction cleaner a body, front supporting wheels for said body, a.rear Wheel for said body, an axle rotatably supporting said rear wheel,means slidably supporting said rear axle, resilient means opposing'sliding of said axle, a body of resilient material carried by saidcleaner body, and means embedded in said resilient means movablysupporting said axle-supporting'means.

6. In a suction cleanerA a body, front supporting means for said body,rear supporting wheels for said body, a common axle for said rearWheels, a housing for said axle slidably positioning said axle, coilsprings enclosing said axle on opposite sides of said housingresiliently maintaining saidl axle in a definite position, supportingarms extended at the sides of said housing and resilient supportscarried by said cleaner body carrying the ends of said arms. v

7. In a suction cleaner a body, a supporting wheel, means supportingsaid Wheel for horizontal transverse slidin movement relative to saidbody, and' secon `means supporting 'said Wheel for angular movementrelative to said body.

Signed at North Canton, in the county .of Stark and State of Ohio, this26th day of Sept. A. D., 1930.

DONALD G. sMELLrE.

CERTIFICATE or common. f

Patent No. 1,878,901. I I September 20, 1932.

DONALD G. SMELLIE.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specificationof the above numbered` patent requiring correction as follows: Page 2,line 128, claim l., for the word "chamber" read cleaner; and thatl thesaid Letters Patent shouid be read with thiscorrection therein that thesame may conform to the recordof the lcase in the Patent Office. I

Signed and sealed' this 29th day of November, A. D. 1932.

M. I. Moore,

(Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents.

